Crack Paths and Hydrogen-Assisted Crack Growth Response in AISI 4340 Steel.
Abstract
A study of the correlation and crack growth response was undertaken to better define the elemental processes involved in gaseous hydrogen embrittlement. AISI 4340 steel fracture under sustained load in hydrogen and in hydrogen sulfide over a range of temperatures and pressures, whose crack growth kinetics have been well characterized previously, was chosen for study. Fractographic results showed that crack growth followed predominantly along prior-austenite grain boundaries, with a small amount of quasi-cleavage, at low temperatures. At high temperatures, crack growth occurred primarily by microvoid coalescence. The fracture surface morphology, which is indicative of the micromechanisms for crack growth, was essentially the same for hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide. Changes in fracture morphology, i.e., crack paths, corresponded to changes in crack growth kinetics, both of which depended on pressure and temperature. There was no evidence for crack nucleation in advance of the main crack, and this suggests that the fracture process zone is located within one prior-austenite grain diameter from the crack tip.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA137388
Entities
People
- Mei‐Yan Gao
- Mingwu Lu
- Robert P. Wei
Organizations
- Lehigh University